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Updated: Apr 15, 2026

Use of Trowell-Type Organ Culture to Study Regulation of Dental Stem Cells
Published on: July 8, 2021
BMP-SHH signaling network controls epithelial stem cell fate via regulation of its niche in the developing tooth
Jingyuan Li1, Jifan Feng2, Yang Liu3
1Center for Craniofacial Molecular Biology, Ostrow School of Dentistry, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA; Molecular Laboratory for Gene Therapy and Tooth Regeneration, Beijing Key Laboratory of Tooth Regeneration and Function Reconstruction, Capital Medical University School of Stomatology, Beijing 100050, PRC.
Abstract:
During embryogenesis, ectodermal stem cells adopt different fates and form diverse ectodermal organs, such as teeth, hair follicles, mammary glands, and salivary glands. Interestingly, these ectodermal organs differ in their tissue homeostasis, which leads to differential abilities for continuous growth postnatally. Mouse molars lose the ability to grow continuously, whereas incisors retain this ability. In this study, we found that a BMP-Smad4-SHH-Gli1 signaling network may provide a niche supporting transient Sox2+ dental epithelial stem cells in mouse molars. This mechanism also plays a role in continuously growing mouse incisors. The differential fate of epithelial stem cells in mouse molars and incisors is controlled by this BMP/SHH signaling network, which partially accounts for the different postnatal growth potential of molars and incisors. Collectively, our study highlights the importance of crosstalk between two signaling pathways, BMP and SHH, in regulating the fate of epithelial stem cells during organogenesis.
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